Utah Prison Watch

Mentally Ill Inmate Starves to Death in Utah Jail

2011-06-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

June 6, 2011by Jean Casella and James RidgewayFrom: SolitaryWatchThe Salt Lake City Tribune reports that a young prisoner who apparently suffered from serious mental illness died of starvation and dehydration after spending four months in the Salt Lake County Jail, much of them in solitary confinement. Carlos Umana, 20, weighed at 180 pounds when he entered the jail in October 2010; when he died

Ex-Inmate Starts Scholarship Fund: will aid kids with incarcerated parents

2011-05-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Salt Lake City Weekly:By Eric S. PetersonPosted May 18,2011Karl “Willy” Winsness had a lot to think about during his 17 years in the Utah State Prison. One thought was why, as he alleges, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s officers who raided his Rose Park apartment with a “no-knock” warrant didn’t identify themselves as law enforcement before they kicked his door down and he ended up shooting one

Utah woman freed from prison after 17 years, declared "factually innocent"

2011-05-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

Via CBS NewsMay 10, 2011(CBS/AP) DRAPER, Utah - In the pouring rain Monday, dozens of friends and family members of Debra Brown stood waiting outside prison gates, huddling under umbrellas -- some holding small children, others colorful balloons.Shortly after 2:30 p.m., Brown, 53, walked out of Utah State Prison after 17 years, touching off an emotional reunion. She had maintained her innocence

Utah prisons remain on lockdown after inmate dies

2011-05-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

Utah prisons remain on lockdown after inmate diesBy Associated PressTuesday, May 3, 2011DRAPER, Utah — Both Utah state prisons remain on lockdown after a deadly fight between inmates and a spate of recent stabbings. ...Read the rest here.

Deseret News: 2011 Utah legislative outlook on crime

2011-01-24T03:53:00.000-08:00

By Paul Koepp, Deseret News The Utah Department of Corrections is requesting from Utah lawmakers an additional $4.9 million to shift inmates to county jails. The state prison is over capacity, with the Board of Pardons and Parole starting early releases of prisoners in the past year. If the prison system stays over capacity for 45 days, state law would trigger an emergency release. UDOC

Early resolution plan in works to move criminal justice system along

2010-12-27T08:57:00.000-08:00

From: Deseret News By Emiley Morgan, Dec 22nd 2010 SALT LAKE CITY — An ambitious plan to streamline the criminal justice process by eliminating as many as 50 percent of felony cases within the first 30 days after they are filed is set to launch in February. The "aggressive" initiative known as Early Case Resolution is

“Home Sweet Home”

2010-10-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

From SolitaryWatch:by Jean Casella and James RidgewayBrandon Green is imprisoned in Uinta 1, a supermax unit at the Utah State Prison in Draper. His writings appear on a blog created for him by Utah Prison Watch. In this piece, he challenges readers to imagine what is like to live in solitary confinement, as he vividly describes the physical and psychological deterioration that take place in an

Kruel Koncentration Karnival

2010-09-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

08-13-2010 Dear kruel world, What´s it going to take? How many more of us must die before someone steps in and stops this control unit´s moves from destroying your brothers, sons and nephews? Is there a lack of belief on everybody´s part because I came across as unstable and untrustworthy? Maybe I am nuts, maybe I am insane, I´ll grant everybody that. But maybe that´s a prerequisite for surviving

Abu Ghraib, USA

2010-09-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

This article is from some time ago (no date available) but in it you will read about the Utah prisons and torture. So therefore we publish it here.Source: The Progressive.Abu Ghraib, USABy Anne-Marie CusacWhen I first saw the photo, taken at the Abu Ghraib prison, of a hooded and robed figure strung with electrical wiring, I thought of the Sacramento, California, city jail.When I heard that

Hogan Return

2010-09-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

Prison building in the distanceStop it I sayCease trying to emulate the mountainsWith your concrete cracks.The mountains are from GodYours are manmade peaksHis will forever stand tallYours, like Troy, will fallDamn you penitentiaryYour halogen lights attempt to rival the starsBlasphemy, a sinner is what you areKeeping Mother Nature outAnd the poor luckless men and women inGulag you are destined

the Desaparecidos of 9/11

2010-09-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

A friend passed these lyrics on to me today in remembrance of those most forgotten from the tragedy on 9/11/2001. Grief was spoken in our country in many languages that day - and it was silenced by fear. Still is. This is for the families of the Desaparecidos everywhere. May you someday safely bring your loved ones into our light. -------------------------- If I Give Your Name

We've Nowhere to Go!

2010-09-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

If I was to break this whole mess (prison) down into a simpler single term it would just be survival; a group of human beings attempting to survive and see another day and to breathe another breath even if it’s a painful breath.A little larger look and we have these suicide bombers in the Middle East killing American troops. Their actions, even though they look very far from it, are about

Death no solution - SLC Tribune Editorial

2010-06-28T22:46:00.001-07:00

June 25th Editorial Salt Lake City Tribune As a family member of a murder victim I always pay attention to the legal wrangling and appeals of convicted killers. I read death penalty pros and cons and listen to descriptions of executions. For 25 years, the man who murdered my mother has been on death row in California. The attorney general’s office there used to call me yearly to report on

Declaration of Modern Day Independence

2010-06-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

All experience has shown that mankind is more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed…December 26th, 2009: US led forces raided a home in Kanur province andpulled eight young men out of their beds, handcuffed them and gunnedthem down execution style. The pentagon initially reported that thevictims had been running

Gray-Haired Witnesses: June 21 Fast.

2010-06-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

MAKE YOUR PLANS TO JOIN US!! JUNE 21, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, DC 10 AM - DEPT. OF JUSTICE 12 NOON - WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE 1PM-9PM - LAFAYETTE SQUARE PARK We need EVERYONE to join us in bringing national attention to the case of the Scott Sisters and all those who have been incarcerated wrongly and egregiously over-sentenced! This is a day-long fast to be the voice of those who

Utah's Attorney General Shurtleff tweets; a man dies

2010-06-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

June 18, 2010 Salt Lake City Nonpartisan Examiner By Scott Spjut Utah's Attorney General - Mark Shurtleff - decided to use Twitter to let the interwebs know he "just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner's execution," adding "May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims." A reasonable amount of uproar has resulted. Opinions on capital punishment aside, death -

Twitter execution comment causes controversy

2010-06-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

June 18, 2010 Utah attorney general uses site to announce ‘go ahead’ of deathComments about the execution of a prisoner — "I just gave the go ahead"— by Utah's attorney general on Twitter were generating lots of comments by others on the microblogging site and in the world of social media. "A Tweet too far?" said a headline on website Mashable. "A sign of the times, although many may find

Gardner execution served no good purpose

2010-06-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

06/18/2010 by Debbra A. Ralston Ronnie Lee Gardner said he hoped to get it right when he is reincarnated. So do we have it right? Does execution "right" the situation (or the life) that went all wrong? Is it right to kill the person who killed, perpetuating a new wave of sorrow, loss and eventual healing? As I opened the paper this morning, I saw pictures of Gardner's family gathered together

Ronnie Lee Gardner Executed

2010-06-18T00:31:00.000-07:00

Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed early Friday by firing squad, the Utah Department of Corrections said. Gardner, 49, is only the third person in 33 years to die by firing squad in the United States. He was killed at 12:20 a.m. MST (2:20 a.m. ET), a Corrections Department spokesman said. A video outlining the execution is available Here RIP Ronnie

In Utah, Execution Evokes Eras Past

2010-06-17T00:40:00.000-07:00

NYTimes By KIRK JOHNSON Published: June 16, 2010 DRAPER, Utah — The death penalty re-emerged here, behind the gray stone walls of the Utah State Prison in early 1977, in violence and blood. A murderer named Gary Mark Gilmore, famous even before the books about him, died before a five-man firing squad, ending a national moratorium on capital punishment. The law-and-order era of the 1980s and ’90s

Prison Officials Investigating Stabbing

2010-06-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

Video Courtesy of KSL.comJune 2nd, 2010 @ 3:12pm By Nicole Gonzales Ksl.com DRAPER -- An inmate who was stabbed several times at the Utah State Prison in Draper Wednesday morning is now recovering in a local hospital. The Utah Department of Corrections says this was inmate-on-inmate crime, and they say they're still looking into why it happened. Around 11:30 a.m., prison officials say one

Prisoner Stable After Stabbing

2010-06-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

Deseret News UTAH STATE PRISON — An inmate at the Utah State Prison was in stable condition in a Salt Lake City hospital after being stabbed multiple times Wednesday. The man, whose name was not immediately released, is an inmate in the medium-security Uinta complex and was stabbed about 11:30 a.m., near his cell, said Department of Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke. He was taken to the

Judge denies stay of execution for Gardner

2010-06-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Written by: Dan Metcalf Jr. Email: dan.metcalf@abc4.com ABC4.com A judge denied a stay of execution for Ronnie Lee Gardner on Tuesday. Third District Court judge Robin Reese denied the motion after hearing arguments last week. Gardner is scheduled to executed by firing squad on June 18th. An death sentence appeal for Gardner will be heard in the Utah Supreme Court next week. Gardner was

Gardner's Date With Firing Squad Revives Talk of Mormon Blood Atonement

2010-05-31T19:27:00.000-07:00

Wild West? Gardner's date with firing squad revives talk of a Mormon 'teaching' that refuses to die. By Peggy Fletcher Stack The Salt Lake Tribune Updated: 05/21/2010 04:41:01 PM MDT After convicted killer Ronnie Lee Gardner announced last month his intention to be executed by firing squad, national and international reporters suggested it was a throwback to the wild, wild West. Some Utahns,

Former inmate speaks on CA prisoners abuse series

2010-05-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

While reading the Sacramento Bee prison abuse series (9-10 May 2010), I was forced to recall the stretch I served in solitary confinement while incarcerated in the Michigan Department of Corrections. The series reveals some horrible abuses of inmates in California’s prisons, many of which mirror the units we have here in Michigan. One of the more troubling findings is the lack of redress for

ACLU And Civil Rights Groups File Legal Challenge To Arizona Racial Profiling Law

2010-05-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

May 17, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (212) 549-2666 media@aclu.org PHOENIX – The American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of civil rights groups filed a class action lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona challenging Arizona's new law requiring police to demand "papers" from people they stop who they suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S. The

Prosecutors seek end to Ronnie Lee Gardner appeals

2010-05-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

Deseret News Prosecutors seeking to send convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner to the firing squad next month filed a motion Friday asking a judge to throw out Gardner's latest appeals. According to documents filed with the

Gray-Haired Witnesses for Justice: Hunger Strike!

2010-05-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

The Gray-Haired Witnesses for Justice are conducting a Hunger Strike at the Department of Justice Headquarters in Washington, DC on June 21, 2010. Contacts: Ruby Sales / B.J. Janice Peak-Graham 1-706-323-0246 1-706-323-0246 - spirithousedc@gmail.com We, who are three strikes removed from the center of the power structure of this country, want to raise the political

ACLU accuses Weber of cost-cutting in double-murder defense

2010-04-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

Apr 23 2010 By Tim Gurrister (Standard-Examiner staff) OGDEN -- Saying Weber County is stepping on the constitutional rights of accused double-murderer Jacob Ethridge as a cost-cutting move, the Utah Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking to join the case. The Weber County Attorney's Office in March filed a motion to remove Ethridge's court-appointed attorneys, Randy

Ronnie Lee Gardner, Condemned Utah Killer, Could Face Firing Squad

2010-04-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A condemned killer appears headed for a date with death in Utah that could see him sit before a firing squad - a development that would likely re-ignite protests over an antiquated, Old West-style of justice. At a hearing Friday, 3rd District Judge Robin Reese will consider whether to sign a warrant of execution for Ronnie Lee Gardner, who killed a man during a failed prison

A Memorial to a Hero Needs Your Support!

2010-04-19T21:15:00.001-07:00

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will be the first on the National Mall to recognize a person of color and a man of peace, not a president or a veteran of war. In 1996 Congress authorized the Memorial Foundation to raise funds to establish a national memorial to honor the legacy of Dr. King on the National Mall. The memorial’s very existence signifies that we as a people believe Dr.

Andrew Lindsey's Response Letter to Investigation results by Warden Turley

2010-03-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

This is a letter we received from Inmate Andrew Lindsey of Utah State Prison. We mailed him personally the excerpts for Warden Turley’s investigation results letter of 10/28/09 that had a post mark of 01/04/10. In Warden Turley’s investigation results he stated the following about Inmate Lindsey and the Prison in general.Inmate Lindsey came to the institution on October 18, 2006. He did not have

Justice Dept. To Launch Indigent Defense Program

2010-02-27T16:31:00.000-08:00

February 26, 2010 NPR Link The U.S. criminal justice system typically pits defense lawyers against government prosecutors. Now, defense lawyers who represent poor clients are about to get some major help from their usual adversaries. The Justice Department is on the verge of launching a new program to help low-income people receive legal help. It's called the Access to Justice initiative, and

No More Shame in Having Prison Connections

2010-02-21T08:16:00.000-08:00

For those of you who forget that the incarcerated humans in this country are indeed just that - human - I'd like you to think on this the next time you talk about "inmates, criminals, convicts, etc." These humans have families and those who love them, despite whatever they did. Look around you and wonder, because this is who we are:We take care of your children and grandchildren in nursery

Women in Utah State Prison

2010-01-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

News from Utah State Prison, Draper 2009

2009-12-31T03:19:00.000-08:00